New Delhi, April 6 (IANS) The United States of America (USA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have qualified for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier after finishing in the top two places of the six-team ICC Mens Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Namibia.
USA finished on top of the table with four wins from five matches, ahead of the UAE on head-to-head, who scored a final-day win over Jersey to level with the USA on points. Hosts Namibia and Canada put in some strong performances but fell just short of progressing with three wins each from their five games.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to progress to the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, even though we see this as a big accomplishment for USA Cricket, we the players also know that it’s going to require lots of improvements for us to compete with the bigger teams.
The players and support staff has worked tirelessly prior and during this event, and the hard work paid off. As I said prior to the play-offs, we have an opportunity to play in two World Cups in less than twelve months, and this group continues to believe and work towards that goal,” USA captain Monank Patel was quoted as saying by the ICC.
The USA and UAE will now be vying with eight other teams during the qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe for two places in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be held in India in October-November.
In the qualifying tournament, the three automatic qualifiers from ICC CWC League 2 — Scotland, Oman and Nepal will be present in addition to the bottom five-placed teams in the ICC ODI Super League.
Currently, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies are confirmed to feature at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe, while Ireland must beat Bangladesh 3-0 in their upcoming Super League series to leapfrog South Africa and gain direct entry to the World Cup.
“We are absolutely delighted to confirm our spot for the qualifiers in Zimbabwe. Heading into the tournament in Namibia, we had a clear objective of delivering our best and playing positive and fearless cricket. I want to thank the players and our entire support staff for their untiring efforts that have resulted in our success.
Our batters have been exceptional for us recently and the bowlers and fielders have backed them up really well. The entire team needs to perform at the same level and display the same commitment and passion for us to excel in Zimbabwe,” said Mohammad Waseem, UAE captain.
Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus was named Player of the Tournament in the qualifier play-off, with 279 runs in five games at an average of 69.75. USA’s Ali Khan topped the wicket charts with 16 wickets at an average of 12.37.
–IANS
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